Advisory Council approves proposal to merge five Islamic banks into a new entity

The Advisory Council of the interim government has approved a proposal to merge five financially distressed private Islamic Shariah-based banks into a single new entity.The decision was made on Thursday at a meeting of the Advisory Council held at the Chief Adviser’s Office in Tejgaon, with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair.Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam disclosed the information at a press briefing later at the Foreign Service Academy.According to the announcement, the five banks to be merged are First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank, EXIM Bank, and Social Islami Bank.Although ICB Islamic Bank was initially included in the list, it was excluded from the merger process due to an ongoing High Court case over share ownership.At the briefing, it was stated that the newly formed bank will have an authorized capital of Tk 40,000 crore and a paid-up capital of approximately Tk 35,000 ...

• 09 Oct 2025